Let It Go
by watchxxthexsky
Summary: The gaze in which he takes her in can be described as nothing else but pure adoration. “I’m not done saving you yet, Peyton. Don’t think I’m ever going to stop.” LP, during 405.


405 and 406 (which you all should know are two of my favorite episodes, 406 especially) were on Soapnet Sunday, and I had to write this - it's obviously inspired by Lucas's flirty comment about the thank you, and then their eye sex before he goes down to identify "Derek." Basically, it was really P!D/Ian at the station, and not her brother, so no attack.

Um, yeah - it's been a while since I've written anything this naughty. It felt funny LOL. Have I used this song before? Weird, I feel like I have - but I don't think so. Hm.

* * *

_You're a shining ember  
I'll be shining armor  
Just look up into my eyes  
I won't let you down_

Tiredly climbing the stairs, Lucas lets out a yawn, thinking over the turmoil that the day had brought. From having Peyton run scared into his arms to going down to the police station and identifying Derek.

Nothing sounded better than climbing into bed at this point, but he'd promised Peyton to stop by her house after the whole ordeal, and he couldn't say that offer didn't sound just as tempting.

Walking into her bedroom, he goes to speak but closes his mouth when he realizes she's asleep on the bed. They might be just friends for now, but he's always had a thing for her legs; the teasing they'd participated in on Brooke's birthday wasn't just teasing - he really did used to watch them all the time.

And sometimes even now.

And her cheerleading skirt gives him the best opportunity to soak in the long expanse of tanned skin.

Lucas walks over, intending to kiss her on the forehead and leave her to rest, but somewhere between the kiss on the forehead and walking out the door, Peyton wakes, just as he's hovering over her face.

They look into each other's eyes for a few moments before she speaks. "Um, hi?"

"Hey," he whispers back, his face flushing red from embarrassment. "I was um, well - you were sleeping, and I was just going to leave… yeah."

The awkwardness in his voice causes her to giggle, and he relaxes his shoulders, moving to sit on the bed with her.

Once they're both settled on the bed, she nervously turns toward him. "So was it him? They really caught him?"

Lucas covers her hand with his, rubbing the skin there in reassurance. "It was really him. You're safe now."

Letting out a small, choked sob, her shoulders begin to shake. Immediately concerned, Lucas gathers her in his arms, rocking slightly back and forth.

"Hey, you're okay now, Peyt. He's gone, they've got him. You're safe."

Peyton nods quickly, and wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. "I know. I know, I do - thank God they did. I'm scared to think of what would've happened, had they not."

She feels Lucas's throat move against the top of her head, and can hear the gulp. Pulling back slightly, but still encased in his arms, she tilts her head at him. "What aren't you telling me?"

He nervously darts his eyes before settling back on hers, sighing in defeat. "His name's not Derek - it's Ian Banks. The police found hundreds, maybe even thousands, of pictures of just you in his hotel. Along with a taser."

Her throat closes in and she feels like she can't breathe. Lucas senses this and pulls her tighter to his chest. "Hey, you're okay, he can't get you."

"But what if he had?" She whimpers.

"Then I would've been there to protect you," he assures her.

"How do you know that?"

Lucas brushes a stray curl from out of her eyes; the gaze in which he takes her in can be described as nothing else but pure adoration. "I'm not done saving you yet, Peyton. Don't think I'm ever going to stop."

_Let it go  
Settle into me  
Let it go  
Let it all go_

_Except for me  
I'm the one you found  
Just hold on  
Hold onto me now_

She doesn't know whether it's the feel of his hands on the bare strip of skin on her back, or the way his voice soothes all her fears, or the glint in his blue eyes, but before she can comprehend her actions, her mouth is covering his in a bruising kiss.

Momentarily surprised, Lucas keeps his lips tightly closed before he realizes it's Peyton and it's everything he's ever wanted since he used to watch her during freshman year. And sophomore year.

They could rationalize and analyze and think this over too much - but their lips are moving together in such a perfect way that neither has forgotten, it's clear that they're both present and they both want this.

Physically _and _emotionally.

Lucas is surprised - in a damn delightful kind of way - when she roughly pushes against his chest, forcing him to lay down. He kinks an eyebrow at her, but she ignores him, and instead slowly lifts the top of her uniform off. His jaw drops, and he can barely stand the sight of her bra clad chest in front of him without touching and tasting.

Peyton nods slightly and his hands trail up her sides; her skin is so soft, he can't even stop the throaty groan before it's out. He palms both breasts, marveling at the feel - he rubs his thumbs over her nipples. Then he sits up, and with her straddling his lap, reaches behind her to unclasp the bra, releasing the flesh he had just been so reverently attending to.

And the sight of her is even better than his imagination. Suddenly, he has to see all of her at once.

They switch roles, him flipping her onto her back. In a wolfish moment, he thinks that the skirt should stay on - but this is their first time, and he wants - no _needs_ - it to be perfect.

He's pulled out of his thoughts when her hands reach for his and shyly place them at the top of her skirt, giving him the silent go ahead.

But he has much better plans than removing it… for now.

With shaking hands, Lucas skims the outside of her thighs, groaning at the feel of her creamy, smooth skin - something he'd only dreamt of until this point. His fingers trail lightly up and when he reaches under the skirt of the uniform, his groan turns into a pant at the realization that there _is_ nothing under the skirt.

"Tell me you haven't been like this since you left my house," he pleads with her, mostly for his sanity.

She pulls her lips back from the spot on his neck and playfully raises and lowers her brow, saying nothing.

The groan that comes from his mouth sounds almost painful, causing her to fall into a fit of giggles.

"I thought it'd be a nice surprise?" Her words come as more of a question than a statement, causing him to smile into her neck.

"Oh yeah," he murmurs party way through a kiss, his fingers gliding smoothly over her center, "the best kind."

Peyton arches her back as soon as his fingers make contact with her. The whimper that emanates from deep within her throat causes Lucas to quit teasing her, subsequently entering into her body with his fingers, the heat that surrounds him causing him to lose his balance for a moment.

"You feel so good," he growls against the shell of her ear.

Her legs fall apart on their own accord and Peyton moans from the combination of his words and what he's doing to her. "_You_ feel so good."

Peyton's hands are a flurry of activity; they're pulling the buttons apart on his shirt, followed by tugging the zipper of his jeans down, and when she's completed as much of these two tasks as possible from the position she's in, her hands run up into his hair, tugging at the blonde tresses.

When his thumb comes up to circle around the most sensitive part of her body, she's falling apart in his arms, a trembling mess of moans and whimpers of the shortened version of his name.

Lucas moves to hold her in his arms as she comes down from her euphoric high.

As soon as she's settled, he lovingly runs his lips across her nose, cheeks, then lips, while his hands reach for the skirt, removing her last article of clothing.

He parts from her, and moves back slightly, wanting to take in the full sight of her body.

He knows the thought is cliché, but the wind is literally knocked out of him - she is absolutely breathtaking. "God, you're so, _so_ beautiful."

Blushing, she bats his wandering hands away when they start traveling south again.

"Okay, this isn't fair," she breathes into this ear, the heat sending a delicious shiver up his spine.

Nodding in agreement, he allows her to push him onto his back. Before he settles against the bed, he raises both arms so she can remove his shirt. Goosebumps pop up along his chest as she trails her lips down the skin of his chest and stomach; the combination of her hot breath and wet tongue occasionally flickering across him sending him into a fit of small grunts. He lifts his hips at her silent command, making room for her to pull down his jeans, surprised when she takes his boxers along with them, leaving him completely bare to her eyes.

He almost blushes when her eyes widen in delight as she takes in the size of him, but the lust in him is taking over as he grabs at her arms to pull her back down.

She can't help herself, "You are so damn… _hot_," she finally comes up with, unable to think of a more appropriate word.

His gruff laugh makes her dizzy with need, and she crushes her mouth against his, her tongue probing against the corner of his mouth until he finally relents, and their kissing becomes all consuming.

Slowly, almost without her noticing, Lucas adjusts her body so that she is hovering right over him - and then she feels the tip of him rubbing against her intimately. She breaks away from his lips, her eyes shutting tightly at the sensation.

He takes a moment to run his eyes over her body once more, not believing that this beautiful woman - the one he'd spent countless nights dreaming of - was finally here, with him, ready to make love for the first time. "You ready?"

Without answering, she takes the length of him in her hand, pumping him twice before lowering herself onto him.

Her hands immediately fall onto his chest while his grip tightly at her waist, both unable to believe they're _finally_ here. The sensation and emotion of their joining almost too much to comprehend.

Peyton looks down at him, tears pricking her eyes at the utterly elated look on his face. When green meets blue, they both smile wide before Lucas forces her hips to move.

They'd both been with other people, and in other relationships, but there's no denying that this is the biggest sense of _right_ that they've ever felt.

_And we'll always be near  
We should always be near_

"You had this planned since the moment we left my house didn't you?"

Peyton jolts from her half awake state, not sensing the teasing lilt in his voice. "What?"

Pulling her tighter against him, he continues to tease her, "You had this whole thing orchestrated just to get in my pants tonight, didn't you?"

She plucks her pillow out from behind her head, lightly thumping him with it, and then turning her back to him. "Shut up."

"I mean," he continued on, ignoring her attempts to block him out, "I knew there was something different about the look in your eye when you told me to just drop by tonight. Hell, if I'd have known _this_ was what you meant, I would've been over a lot sooner."

Not being able to help it, Peyton laughs heartily into her pillow before turning back to face him, looping her arms around his neck.

Lucas takes in her flushed face and thoroughly kissed lips, feeling a bubble of happiness overwhelm his chest, knowing he was the cause of this look.

"Well, you started it - what with your flirting and asking me to have sex with you as a thank you."

"Okay, now you make it sound like I'm a sleazy perv, babe."

Clacking her tongue, she nestles into his embrace, "If the shoe fits."

Even though the moment is one of lighthearted fun and laughter, he can't help but feel a burst of emotions, looking down at her, finally in his arms.

After far too long apart.

Grasping her chin gently, he makes sure she has his full attention before speaking, and the words are simple, but the most powerful she thinks she's ever heard from anyone: "I think… no, I know I'm in love with you."

Tears flood her eyes and she doesn't bother to hide it, the moment feeling too raw and too intense to turn away from. "And I think I've been waiting for that… forever."

"Yeah?" She nods. "I don't think it ever went away, I think I just… it was too hard and too intense back then. But now, after everything we've been through, thinking of how many times I could've lost you and almost did; I can't think of any reason for us to still be apart."

She marvels at the beautiful words that come out of his mouth, relieved that he's able to verbalize exactly what she's been feeling since she realized she never stopped loving him.

"I don't think you'll ever realize how much I love you," she informs him.

Lucas shakes his head and briefly pulls her lips into one last kiss, not being able to form words, the way she'd spoken causing his throat to form a lump.

Moments pass, her head lying on his chest, him stroking her bare arm. "Hey Peyt?"

"Yeah Luke?"

He chuckles to himself before proceeding, "Next time you're keeping the skirt on."

_Don't you know you're the one for me  
After all, anyone can see_

* * *

Let me know what you think!


End file.
